Governors Ball Music Festival 2022, Day 3

J. Cole Breaks from Basketball, Playboi Carti Performs in Thick Fog, and J.I.D Fractures His Hand

The Governors Ball Music Festival has a history of severe weather canceling parts of the program, but not so in 2022. On day three, numerous large puddles from an overnight storm greeted the attendees early in the day, and then sunny or overcast skies and moderate heat defeated the predictions of further rain. J. Cole headlined, and the day was filled with performances by Playboi Carti, Kaytranada, Jazmine Sullivan, Glass Animals, Japanese Breakfast, Clairo, Becky G, 100 gecs, J.I.D, COIN, Soccer Mommy, Surf Curse, Duckwrth, Del Water Gap, Ken Car$on, the Brummies, Jax, De'Wayne, Kaien Cruz, and Chris Andrew across four stages in the parking lot of Citi Field.

J. Cole

Jazmine Sullivan

Kaytranada

Becky G

“I’ve been playing basketball,” J. Cole told his audience of several thousand fans below him. “I came here to see if I could still rap.” Cole’s most-recent New York City performance was in 2021’s Rolling Loud Festival. Since then, he has been playing basketball for a Canadian minor-league team, the Scarborough Shooting Stars. He performed a career-spanning set, including songs off his appropriately-titled 2021 album, The Off-Season.

“It’s so crazy to be here, with the train going by,” Cole said as he watched the subway roll on the elevated tracks just outside the field grounds. “I used to live right down the street, writing songs as the trains go by.” The audience cheered when he concluded that “New York is like a second home to me.”

Duckwrth

100 gecs

Glass Animals

Coin

Playboi Carti (photograph by Jn Silva)

Many music acts incorporated visually stimulating moments into their performances. Glass Animals brought the stage set from the band’s 2021 tour, in which the resort-themed design placed the audience within a swimming pool, below the band’s diving board. Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast banged on a Chinese gong surrounded by a wreath of colorful blossoms. Coin included a huge three-dimensional ladybug as part of its backdrop. 100 gecs started its set dressed as wizards. Duckwrth wore a flaring dress that looked like it was made from a military parachute. Nevertheless, Playboi Carti’s performance at the end of the weekend was the most radical.

A massively-tall pyramid-like structure covered the full staging area, surrounded by constantly billowing fog. Much like a moonlit graveyard scene in a horror movie, from the darkness the audience heard death metal rock along with screams and growls. Playboi Carti performed his entire set in the shadows of this thick fog, such that the audience never saw him clearly, only his silhouette. A guitarist, also barely visible in the dense fog, played death metal leads and riffs from the base of the pyramid, while Carti shrieked, howled and rapped, often from the top of the pyramid. Recurring towers of fire added to the eerie setting.

Soccer Mommy

Surf Curse

Clairo

Japanese Breakfast

“I didn’t know if you would all come today,” singer Michelle Zauner told the audience gathered to hear Japanese Breakfast, “but you came through, New York, as you always do.” Since many in the audience saw her last, Zauner has been branching beyond her role as pop singer. Her 2021 book, Crying in H Mart: A Memoir, made the bestseller list in the New York Times, and she is rewriting the book into a screenplay for a movie. Just a few weeks ago, she was at Citi Field for another reason. “We’re from Philly,” she reminded the audience. “I am returning to the scene of the crime, where I threw out the first pitch here for the Mets.”

Del Water Gap

J.I.D

Ken Car$on

The Brummies

J.I.D performed earlier in the day and at night came back on stage with Kenny Mason for J. Cole’s set, where the three performed “Stick.” At this time, the audience learned that J.I.D’s fall during his afternoon set was more serious than anyone thought, including J.I.D. Before the trio started, J.I.D told the audience, “I want you to be safe out there.” He raised his arm, showing his hand wrapped in bandages. He continued, “I broke my hand earlier during my set because I was raging too hard. Don’t be like me.” He advised those who felt uncomfortable with mosh pits to move back. “I see fun. I see mosh pits. I see safety.” Raising his hand again, he said, “Listen, I’m serious, don’t be like me. Have fun.”

Chris Andrew

De'Wayne (photograph by Charles Reagan)

Kaien Cruz (photograph by Greg Noire)

Jax

At 10 p.m., the final musical notes were played, the music fans walked to the subway station or other methods of transportation, the musicians began their exodus to their hotel rooms, the stage hands began dismantling the stages, the food vendors packed their vehicles with their leftovers, and everyone involved in the production likely began counting their profits. The festival ground would soon resume its role as a parking lot for New York Mets fans. Rolling Loud New York will transform the open pavement again on September 23-25, with Nicki Minaj, A$AP Rocky, and Future headlining what is billed as the world's biggest hip hop festival.

The next Governors Ball will be on June 9 to 11, 2023. The promoter, Founders Entertainment, probably will announce the performers, location, ticket prices and other details in February 2023. See you next year!

Click here for The Manhattan Beat's coverage of of Governors Ball, Day 1

Click here for The Manhattan Beat's coverage of Governors Ball, Day 2

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The Manhattan Beat covers New York City's live music developments as they happen. All articles are written by Everynight Charley Crespo. All photographs are taken by Everynight Charley Crespo, except when noted otherwise. For a list of Manhattan venues that are presenting live music regularly, swing the desktop cursor to the right of the home page and click on the pop-up tab "Where to Find Live Music." For a listing of upcoming concerts for live audiences, visit The Manhattan Beat's June calendar.